Pond Friends Swap Sent Out!

These are the things I made and sent to BronzFrog in the Pond Friends Swap. The carving is actually very special to me, I made it in my wood carving class in India, but I know that BronzFrog is the right recipient for it.

I made the frog stuffie from the free frog pattern at Purl Bee. When I stuffed it I added lavender and rosemary from my garden.

The bottom of this bag is actually supposed to be a lily pad. It looks more like one from a diferent angle, but if I took the picture that way you wouldn't see the little froggie on the side.

Pond Friends Swap Received!

This is the great frog stuff I got this summer from BronzFrog, a craftster swapper, in the Pond Friends Swap. (I have been meaning to post these pics forever and a day now. Busy busy.)

Coincidentally we each made eachother frog stuffies. I love the pattern she used with it's little darts for a more sculpted frog face and frog butt. She got her free pattern at The Frog Store.

Check out my canned frog hanging out with my herbal teas! It looks like a shelf of spell components. And I love drinking tea from my frog mug, and having frog magnets.

I love everything, but I have to say my FAVORITE thing in this package are the bottlecap earrings. They rule! I feel extra festive wearing them. It was fun making stuff for and getting stuff from a fellow frog lover. Thanks BronzFrog!

Jam-Packed Swap Package Received!

This past month I've had the pleasure of participating in the Crafty Daisies Summer Craft Swap, and today I received an amazing box crammed with cool stuff from Jeannie of What The Hay! I really wish I had taken a picture of everything when I opened the box, gift after gift tumbling out, all wrapped in the prettiest tissue paper---shades of green and coordinating patterns. (It was a lovely sight, but I was way too excited and had to tear into it.)

This bag is SOOOO great! I fit my entire box of springy colored yarns into it. She made it from a wrap skirt and some fabric she picked up at an estate sale. The ties for handles are an excellent idea that I will have to use on some future bags I make. The little hanky on the pocket is the perfect touch. AND this bag is reversible!

And all the other gifties....man, there were a TON, and they were all so thoughtful. I was touched. Let me go through the photo mosaic square by square...

1)She sent me several fun yarns, some elastic (I ALWAYS NEED THAT, and I can never find the box it's in....) They're sitting in a cool little green and blue box with a lid that all folds flat and then snaps together. Altoids covered in dark chocolate, and when they are eaten, underneath the mints, the tin is lined with a magnet sheet and needles! It's a great addition to the sewing kit. She actually has a tutorial for this needle holder. Then there is the beautiful handknit dishcloth! You cannot tell at all that there are 2 really nice dark green re-usable produce bags in this pic...One is underneath everything, and one is behind it all, stuffed with the all the tissue paper that the gifts were wrapped in. I want to save all of that and glue it to things! It's all so nice.

2)Glittery Handmade stationary made with cardstock left over from her wedding and recycled paper envelopes handstamped with dragonflies, a pretty dragonfly necklace made by one of Jeannie's friends, a fun frame, and super cool socks from Tokyo!

3)A counted cross-stitch kit to make a bib, a cute beaded bag for crochet hooks and accessories, a beaded garland with clips to hang photos, and an energy efficient light bulb that lasts 7 years!(Hallelujah! I just took one of my 2 light bulbs out of my craft room a couple days ago to have light for doing laundry. I always forget light bulbs at the store. So annoying....)

4)Seeds: Basil (yum) and Texas Bluebonnets---their state flower! ( I was born in Texas by the way.) There is also a beautiful postcard showing an entire field of bluebonnets....geez this photo mosaic cut a bunch of stuff out of the pic...(oh well....technological visual presentation empowerment will be mine someday...)...plant markers, a green sharpie, and a stack of biodegradable seed starting pots made from newspapers! I have one of them unflattened and standing up, but it is behind the basil seeds. I am about to start some seeds, so these will come in handy. AND I can figure out how to do it too, which is really exciting. A stack of homemade seed starter pots is such a sweet and perfect gift for a gardening girl. Not only am I one myself, I have friends that like to garden too, so this is very exciting.

Thank You so much Jeannie!

I was bad and sent the package I was working on a couple days AFTER the deadline, (May 7th rather than May 4th) but it should be there soon and then I can post my pics of that. Yay!

Cool Swap Package From Kwoozy!

Check out all the cute handmade stuff I just got!

Kwoozy sent me this black and white half-apron with hand embroidered skulls, a little green fabric origami box that I put my earrings in (it matches everything on my jewelry table since I'm pretty fond of green), and a pincushion with an anchor and carrots. I'm taking carrots out to sea with me so I don't get scurvy! As you can see, it is all super cute.

Thanks for swapping with me Kwoozy, and making me cool stuff that I can use! It was lot's of fun picking out stuff for you and emailing and whatnot.

I had never given too much thought to origami boxes before this swap, and I must say they are very exciting. Kwoozy recommends the books by Tomoko Fuse.

The Swap Strikes Again!

The lovely Meshell sent me a bunch of candy, cuz she felt like I sent her way too much stuff in our swap. She really didn't have to be so sweet. I'm just a chick with tons of stuff, and I couldn't help but to continue throwing more stuff into the box I was sending her as I came across it. Plus, she sent me awesome stuff, and the best sewing supplies bag EVER......Anyhow, as you can see, despite it being unecessary for her to send me another package, I enjoyed the candy quite alot. I tried to take a pic before eating it all, but my camera battery was dead and needed charging. (There were more Tim Tams, but I didn't save all the wrappers.) Thanks Meshell!

AWESOME PACKAGE FROM MESHELL!!!!

I was richly rewarded for my work on Miss Bunny (Petunia!) by this MINDBLOWING crazy-pretty sewing goodies bag from Meshell. It is amazing! For one, just check it out overall- it's a beautiful and artsy sort of composition. And then, there are so many cool little details to discover. Even the thread colors are pretty and fun. It was obviously alot of work, piecing and composing patchwork and colors, hand-embroidery, covered buttons....!!!!!

I'll be the envy of all when I whip this baby out to get my seam ripper or safety pins, scissors, thread, etc. I really love it. Every bit of it is very thoughful. I feel so "up" looking at it, like I just drank a gallon of fragrant jasmine tea.

The colors of the striped fabric are so inspiring. They are like cantaloupe, strawberries, raspberries, chocolate, and mint. I want to make a whole blanket with those colors.

I also love how there are these mellow colors on my bag like light pink and sagey-green, right in there with this really vibrant bright orange (with a subtly mottled dye! I dyed some orange fabric a while back and it looked like that!) and it so completely works because it gets pulled together with these circles of lime and bright aqua and bright pink. Take a look!

Don't forget to check out the cute red covered button with the tiny white polka dots,the fun yellow flower button and the chunky green button, the red and white half-swirly button, ALL THE BUTTONS,the happy coffee beans/flower, all the cute little stitches, and the tiny gold kangaroo pin, the shiny stripey grosgrain ribbon that ties it together.....

I must be sort of a pain in the butt, because instead of just saying "oh, I think my favorite color must be...GREEN" or something almost as simple like "I love black and silver." , I insist that I love ALL COLORS, and then I email pictures of paintings by Beatriz Milhazes and say I want something like that. I got it too! I feel so lucky.

I also got funny postcards, pretty postcards, and the candy totally ruled! I always loved gummy candies, and now I am afraid I will not like them as much, because they can't possibly be as sweet and soft as FORBIDDEN FRUIT. What's with the apple and the orange making out? The pineapple guy looks pretty satisfied. Guess he already got some.

The vegemite was AN EXPERIENCE. My boyfriend had fun taking the pictures and laughing at my funny face.

Thank you so much Meshell! It really did feel like Christmas today, and it's been super fun emailing and crafting for you.

I'll have to post another pic after I've arranged all my stuff in all the handy pockets. I stuck the pins in right away, since I stuck my tomato pincushion in Petunia's butt to give her a little more weight and stabilty.

More Miss Bunny

I took ALOT of pictures of this project, and I can't help myself, I must post MORE.

Miss Bunny Pics!

I still can't sleep. I found out that Meshell got my package, and I'm just so pleased that she was so pleased! These are my pictures of my first attempts at a crocheted animal....... that I ended up mostly sewing.....

Miss Bunny Sneak Peek

Miss Bunny Is Packed For Her Trip!

The soon to be re-named Miss Bunny is ready to go to Australia, to live with her friend Meshell. She is just so over the USA.

It took me (nearly) forever to make this bunny, and then it seemed to take forever to actually get her into a labeled box ready for transport. Whenever I thought I was about to pack her up, I had something else to do....

At this point she is FINALLY packed, and tomorrow she is FINALLY going to the post office. At first I was a little worried about her comfort, but not anymore. She will not be cramped, or even bored, thanks to the wonders of traveling in STASIS.

WIP---Crocheted Bunny From Handspun Hemp

It's gotta be considered wrong to post a WIP if it's for a swap...but I figure, hey, it's just a head! There's still a whole body and an outfit that needs to happen, so there are still ALOT of surprises possible. It's the preview, as opposed to the FEATURE PRESENTATION.

This is my bunny prior to today's work session, in which not a whole lot more than this happened, but some. I was happy to have a little time for her today, and to be able to hang out in the sewing room without being attacked by fleas.

We've still got some of those cursed vermin in other living areas. The fight against fleas, the insane tons of stuff to launder, the vaccuming, and trapping, and spraying limonene continues.....